


Is it enough (to love you)

by emd14



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, football!Louis, i think tags ruin the surprise?, this is going to ruin my life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-01-05
Updated: 2014-05-04
Packaged: 2018-01-07 06:53:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 12,593
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1116823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/emd14/pseuds/emd14
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>AU in which Harry sees Louis from across the club while taking pictures of Zayn; Liam and Niall are on Louis football team, and there may or may not be feelings between Harry and Louis, and Liam and Zayn.<br/>All Harry wanted to do was pass his Photography course, and all Louis wanted to do was become a football pro.<br/></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I

**Author's Note:**

> I in no way am associated with any of the boys so please don't think any of this is accurate, it's false under every circumstance. 
> 
> This is my first work, so if you could please leave comments, or I'll be stalking ' #is it enough to love you ' on tumblr..  
> so please let me know what you think! I'll be adding the next part soon. *please read end notes*

Harry was in the middle of his coursework when his phone buzzed. He reached for his phone and opened the message from Zayn. _Mate, still coming to my show? On stage at nine. Bring that boy you've been seeing x_  


He sighed and closed his phone, returning to his work. He'd been 'seeing' John for a few weeks, nothing serious really. Just casual, something fun. So Harry decided to opt out of telling John about the gig tonight. The gig was at the Piccadilly Institute, some place Zayn had been DJing at every once in a while trying to get his career as a disc jokey to take off. Harry'd gone to take pictures of him for a final in his course last year, and ended up the official photographer of one Zayn Malik.  


He finished the last page of his paper and looked at the time. 7 o'clock pm. Unlocking his phone he shot a text to Zayn: _Just finished coursework, be over soon .x_

He stood from his kitchen stool and headed towards the fridge, grabbing a bottle of water for the road. He walked through the arch to the dining room where he grabbed his camera bag and his wallet. Harry often met Zayn earlier than his stage time to run through some things and have a beer with him.  
The tube from Convent Gardens only took a few minutes to pull up to Piccadilly stop, where he got off and walked the short distance to Zayns flat.  


x  


Louis was on the shoulders of his other team mates, looking into the stands. It was the last game of the school term and they'd just won against Kingston in a penalty shot and the crowd was going wild. He looked down to his left and saw his best mate Niall grinning up at him just as he felt a hand slap his back, knowing it belonged to his other mate, Liam. They were going to university for the sake of hoping to get drafted to a premiere football league. 

Louis had his sights on Manchester United ever since he was a kid, playing in the pitch in primary school. He knew Niall was looking to get into the Irish team, and Liam was going to school for a real job, but played football on the side and wasn't concerned if he wasn't drafted. He focused his sights back to the pitch, watching the other team drag themselves off the field in defeat. 

When the team got into the locker room, there was cheering and excitement from everyone- if they kept this up they'd be right on their way to first place, and heading towards the championship game in May. After about thirty-five minutes Niall was changed and badgering the other boys to get ready. “Mates, we've got to get going! It's nine and I'm ready to go out and party!” Louis looked at him and laughed, pulling his shirt over his head and combing his hair with his fingers. 

“Yeah alright then, hold on.” He walked around the wall to the showers and shut Liams shower off, getting the sleeve of his t-shirt wet. 

“What the-” Liam had opened his eyes and realised it was Louis, stopping his words immediately and grabbed his towel. 

“Liam, we've got to get a move on. Niall's about to throw a hissy fit if we don't leave soon.” 

He chuckled and heard Niall from the other room, “Zayn's playing, and you know he's a mate from class!” Louis went back to Niall, putting his bag into his locker and stood against the wall, waiting patiently. Liam was a quick changer so he wasn't too concerned. 

Once all the boys were ready, they walked out to the carpark and chatted to the few members that were still there. “You lot coming out?” Mark, the goalie, asked them while getting into his car. The other guys had gone, leaving just the four of them. 

Louis took the bait, “We're heading to Piccadilly Institute if you wanna join us,” he said, shrugging his shoulders.

Mark started his car and looked to them one more time, “Wanna ride together then? I'll join you lads.” 

Liam laughed, “Tonight should be wicked,” and then got into the car, followed by Niall and Louis.  


x

The music was pumping through the speakers and everyone around him was drunk and obnoxious. Harry focused his camera on Zayn and clicked the shutter button a few times before turning around and taking some shots of the crowd. There was a group of four men in the back corner who were doing shots and seemed a bit out of place, in football jerseys and the sort. The flash turned on and he examined the picture, zooming into the face of each guy. When he got to the one third from the left he paused, staring at him. He was very attractive with some scruff on his face and a messy hairdo; he was a bit smaller than the other guys he was with, but his smile was bigger and more genuine than the others. It was one that could move mountains, his smile looked as though he was having more fun- or was more drunk. Either way, Harry made a mental note to go over there at some point and ask to take their pictures. Sometimes, Harry thought, having a camera can let you ask to take attractive mens pictures without it being weird. He smiled and turned back to Zayn who was just finishing up a set list and getting ready to take a break. 

Zayn and Harry had just done a jagerbomb when Zayn turned to Harry with a smirk, “Saw you looking at the footballers in the back. They're cute, yeah?”  
Harry turned his head down, looking at his drink with a small smile on his face. Zayn's been his best mate for a while, knowing his taste in men by now, and Harry knows Zayn's experimented with men before, but mostly his hookups have been with women lately. Harry showed him the picture of the lads that he took a while ago and Zayn took the camera out of his hand and zoomed in on one of the boys' face. He was a brunette boy with short hair on the side but a definite forward slant that looked on it's way to a very promising quiff. He was holding up an arm that had arrows on it, getting ready to take the shot that was in his hand. Zayn looked at the other people in the picture and smiled, “C'mon,” he said as he pulled Harry along with a smile on his face. 

They were halfway through the crowd when Harry realised where they were going, “Zayn. Zayn what the- where are we- we can't just go _up_ to them!” He was starting to say something else but by the time his mouth opened they were already there. 

The blond one stood up and held out his hand, “Zayn my man! Awesome set you had going, when are ya on again?” He was smiling at Harry, looking expectantly. 

Zayn looked to Harry and let go of his arm, “This is Harry, and I'm going back on in a few minutes here.” Zayn nodded his head towards the stage and then looked over the other 3 that were with the blond man Harry had still not learned the name of. 

Harry coughed and the one who Harry zoomed on in first smiled and stood up, laughing. “Hey, I'm Louis. This here is Liam, Mark, and Niall.” 

Niall shrugged and took a sip of his drink and looked toward Harry, “Nice camera. You always come to the club with it?” Harry looked down around his neck and held the camera in his hand, suddenly feeling the alcohol him and Zayn had drank. 

“Yeah,uhm, no I don't” Harry started, “I'm a photography student and somehow managed to become Zayns personal photographer,” He laughed and took a sip of his own drink. 

Louis was smiling at him and Harry could feel himself blushing when someone bumped into the back of him and sent him stumbling toward the one with the tattooed arrows on his arms, Liam. “Oh my god. I'm so sorry,” Harry spat out as his drink lay on the ground and some of its contents splattered on Liam. Liam bent over and grabbed a napkin and promptly started wiping his shirt. 

“It's okay, no problem. Shit happens,” He smiled and looked up, to which his eyes met Zayns. Harry could feel Zayn tense up nervously next to him, but saw the small smile that came across his face. 

“Uhm, I've got to go,” Zayn looked around the the other guys then his eyes settled on Liam, “but see you after the show yeah?” He turned and nudged Harry, smirk on his face, then walked toward the stage. 

Harry just stood there a moment before Louis walked towards him and leaned into his face, lips centimetres from his ear with music blaring from the start of Zayns next set. Harry could feel Louis' breath and felt himself shudder. “Let's go get you new drink then shall we?” Louis looked to him with a smile that Harry could tell he won't forget easily. 

They walked the way to the bar and sat at a stool, waiting for the bartender to notice them. “So,” Louis added when the silence became a bit too much, “Photography student, huh?” Harry nodded and looked towards his camera then back up at Louis. Harry could feel his heart flutter and this was not good. Not good at all.  
  
“Yeah, I am. Not all that good but I'm getting there.”  


“I'm sure you're great, let's see” Louis reached over and lifted the camera up around Harry's neck. Louis' hand brushed the back of his neck and once again he felt a himself shudder, silently hoping that Louis couldn't see it. Louis was flipping through the pictures as the bartender came up to them, asking what they wanted. They ordered their drinks and Louis placed the camera around Harry's neck again, staring at him. 

Harry shifted uncomfortably, “What? What's the problem?” 

Louis shook his head and smiled, “Your pictures are awesome, you've got such a talent!” Harry shrugged and took a sip of his drink, but not before a smile crept across his face.

“Well, thanks. What do you do? I mean like, for school, or work or..” Oh god, he thought, I'm fucking rambling. WHY was he rambling.  


Louis didn't seem to mind though, just continued on. “Me and the other lads I'm with are football players for UCL, planning on trying to make it big in football.” Harry watched as his eyes lit up talking about their big win of the night, coming here, and then Louis's eyes connected with Harry and he couldn't help but smile. 

“Sounds like a sick night for you all then! What are you guys doing after?” 

Louis quietly blushed then smiled, “Not quite sure. Not ready to head back home though I'm sure. We like a good party.” His hands drifted towards his beer and lifted up towards his lips and Harry swallowed, quickly looking away. 

Before Harry could stop himself, the words were coming out of his mouth, “Well, we were planning on going back to my flat after and having some more drinks if you want to come, you guys can?”  


Louis got up immediately wearing the smile Harry's grown fond of the past half an hour, and they made their way back to the other guys, “Hey, Harry here has invited us to his after for some more drinking, you guys up for it?” They all nodded in unison, apparently game for an after party. Harry stood on the chair and listened to the others' conversations as he took pictures of Zayn from back here, liking the height advantage that he has from the chair and the way the light hits Zayns face on stage. He looked back at his latest picture and smiled, making a note in his head to get this framed and printed for Zayn.  


x

“Shots! Shots! Shots!” Louis heard coming from the other room. He was in the kitchen getting some more alcohol from Harry's fridge, taking in all the food that he had in there. Louis couldn't cook, and he was always jealous of people that could. It's not like the didn't know how, it's that he never had the time. With all the overtime him and the other guys were putting into the football training, draft was coming up soon and he had to get picked. He must have been gone a few minutes too long because he turned around to the sound of Harry padding into the room, setting an empty bottle on the kitchen table. Louis quickly closed the fridge and stood near the table, next to Harry. 

“Finding everything okay?” He heard Harry ask.  


“Yeah, sorry. Just got distracted. Not used to seeing fridges this full,” he half laughed as he ran his hand behind his neck and gave it a soft squeeze. 

Harry tilted his head sideways and gave a quizzical look to Louis, “what do you mean?”

Louis reached out and twisted off the top to his beer and took a sip, “It's just I don't have much time to cook so I usually just order takeout, and I'm always so surprised to remember that people actually enjoy cooking.” He saw Harry smile, which in turn made himself smile. 

“Well, I could cook you something sometime, I mean, if-if you want..” 

Louis felt his cheeks get pink and he smiled up at Harry, bottlecap still in his hand. “Yeah- yeah that would be cool.” Louis took in a small breath, still smiling at the Harry. He had the biggest dimples Louis had ever seen, and he was completely in awe of his perfect face and curly hair. As Louis was about to say something else, he heard Niall yelling in the background “Oi! Where you boys at? Better not be making out in the kitchen! LOU! Get out here! Shots are to be had!” Louis face went about four shades brighter as he looked up to Harry who himself had a look of complete shock on his face. Louis let out a small chuckle as he walked past Harry and clapped his hand on his shoulder while letting his hand linger for a beat longer before turning and going into the living room.  


Louis walked into the living room which was painted white but had photos of an assortment of places on them, he looked around and took in the site of Harry's home, wondering if he had taken these photos himself or if he just liked them enough to cover his house with them. _Definitely took them,_ he came to the conclusion as he took his seat on the couch arm next to Liam, who was staring at the person in the seat across from him, the man Harry was taking pictures of, Zayn- he thinks. 

He nudged Liam and did a small head nod towards Zayn with a look of confusion on his face. He leaned down and whispered into Liam's ear, “What's with this?” Liam looked up to him and just gave a small smirk,turning his attention back to the group of guys. 

Louis looked up and Harry was in front of him, handing him another beer, “Thought you'd be needing this soon, as you drank half of yours in the kitchen,” He smiled and took the beer, thanking Harry as he set it on the table in front of him. He watched Harry take a seat next to Zayn, and focused his attention on Niall, who was in the middle of telling the story of their penalty shot win of the night. 

“Maaaaate” Louis started, “We've heard, and some of us _lived_ , this story already. Get on with it yeah?” Niall just looked at him and scoffed while muttering something under his breath. Louis could tell he wasn't actually angry with him by Niall's body language. They'd known each other long enough that it was pretty open banter with each other by now.  


Louis looked around the room, taking in the site of the other five guys. Mark was passed over in the corner in a chair from the kitchen, while Harry was in the middle of talking about a picture on his wall of the London Eye with Liam, Niall and Zayn. He looked to Zayn who had kind of intimidated him at first, but looking at him now his focus was on Liam, watching him smile and looking like he was trying to memorise his face. He wondered if anything would happen between the two of them; Liam had just gotten rid of a girlfriend and come out of the closet within the last six months and it certainly looked like Zayn was into it, so he made a mental note to talk to Liam about relationships and such- strictly for research so he could talk to Harry about it. Research, he thought.  


. . .

It was nearing half ten in the morning by the time the guys had woken up and were getting ready to go. Niall was waiting outside for the taxi and Liam was in the hall talking to Zayn, hearing small giggles coming from where they were. Louis looked up towards the man in front of him, whom he'd spent the past night staring at- I mean, who could blame him? His dimples, his eyes, his wonderful, soft voice. It almost made Louis want to jump on him right then and there- but of course he barely knew the man and would probably find it a bit odd, and he wasn't even sure if he was into men.  


He shook that thought out of his head as he started to say thank you, “It was really awesome of you to let us come hang here for a bit. Anytime you want to do something, give us a call.. I, uh, I left my number on your kitchen table; I hope that's alright.” Louis looked down to his feet then to his right arm where Harry's hand suddenly appeared. 

He was too busy staring and feeling the warmth of Harry's hand on his arm that he almost missed what he was saying, “and if you really did want me to make you dinner, that would be still be alright with me” Harry was smiling at him, and just as quick as his hand made contact, it lost it. Harry's arms were back at his side, sliding into his front jean pockets. Louis smiled and made another quick thank you before walking into the hall, stopping in his tracks with Harry bumping right into him.  


In front of them, Liam was embraced in Zayns arms, in the middle of a very, very passionate kiss. As soon as the two of them realised they weren't alone, they both blushed loudly and stepped away from each other, Liam quickly walking outside to meet Niall in the cab.  
There goes my research then, Louis thought to himself while walking down the few steps from Harry's front door to the pavement.  


. . .

“What the hell was that?” Niall asked as they walked into their flat. Louis, Niall and Liam had all been placed to live together in their beginning year of school and found they got on quite well so they decided to stick with it. Louis threw his wallet down on the coffee table and plopped down on the couch, picking up the television remote and clicking the tv on where there was a Jeremy Kyle rerun on. He tried to block out the other lads but couldn't so decided to join in on their conversation.  


“Mate, I don't know what you're on about, it was just a friendly kiss.”  


“A friendly kiss?”Niall replied, “You were in his arms, about ready to get it on right there.” Louis heard Niall laughing and then tossed the remote to the side and went into the dining room. 

“It was pretty friendly, I mean they had the decency to keep their hands off of each other, for the most part.. and for Liam that's quite a chore when things are getting 'ot and 'eavy” Louis made an exaggerated wink and thrusted his hips towards them before sitting down opposite the both of them.  


“Piss off will ya” Liam just said, but he had a gleam in his eye that suggested he wasn't too hurt at the comment. “Anyways, what was up with you and that Harry fellow? You two seemed to be hitting it off well.” Louis watched as Liam got up and went through the small door frame into the kitchen and grabbed and orange juice out of the fridge.  


“Yeah he's alright. I don't know, he offered to make me food sometime? I don't even know. I don't even have time for boys right now.” 

Louis sighed exhaustedly and put his hand in his arms as Niall reached over and ruffled his hair. “S'alright mate, you'll get it sorted.” Niall was always the one of them that was too optimistic for his own good, but sometimes Louis needed just that.  


He put his arms back down on the table and then looked to both the guys, “I don't even know if he'll call me, I told him I left my number on the kitchen table. So, I guess all we can do is wait.”  


. . .

And wait was what Harry did. He went back and forth for almost a week debating whether or not to call Louis, and on the Wednesday after he plucked up the courage and dialled the number that had been staring at him for five days on the kitchen counter. _Ring, ring. .. Ring, ring._ Harry decided if Louis didn't pick up on the fifth ring, he'd hang up and just give up. It was embarrassing enough if he didn't answer the first time. It rang one more time and Harry was just about to take the phone from his ear when he heard a soft “hello?” coming from the other end of the phone. He inhaled sharply and then cleared his throat before starting. He actually did it, he called Louis.  


“Hello, Louis? It's Harry.”


	2. II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took so long! Things got busy as I returned to school after a year off.  
> As always, I'm in no way associated with any of the boys and this is clearly my imagination at work. Please leave feedback as I love to hear what you lot have to say! *I've got no betas as this is my first fic, so stick with me if something's wrong, and please let me know so I can fix it*

Harry heard shuffling before a “Harry! Hi, hello! How're you?”

“I'm good thanks, how are you?”

“Yeah I'm good. What's- what's up?”

“Well,” Harry explained, “I was just wondering if you'd still be up for having that dinner cooked for you? We could maybe rent a movie and have a few beers?” Harry swallowed hard and could feel his hands becoming more clammier as he waited for a response.

“Like a date?”

Harry froze. He didn't mean for it to sound like a date; what if Louis wasn't even into him like that, what would he think? Would he feel uncomfortable? What the hell was he doing- he barely even knows Louis for Christ's sake.

  
“I mean, uhm” Pause. “If- If- No, not like a date. Not unless.. unless you wanted to?”

 _Ugh,_ thought Harry, _what the fuck am I doing. I'm such an idiot._ Harry slammed his hand into his forehead and let out a small inaudible sigh. _Imagine what he must think of me._

Wait, since when did Harry give a fuck what any man thought of him? He hadn't. Up until 5 days ago when a certain football player walked into his life and left Harry with no other thoughts than what he wanted to do with him.

With what felt like ages in between thoughts, Louis finally responded. “Yeah, that'd be great. When were you thinking?”

“When are you free?” That may have come out a bit too eager and a bit too fast for Harry's liking, but there was nothing he could do about it now- the question had already been asked.

“One sec. Let me check my calendar.”

_Great, he's got to pencil me in. Awesome. Way to go, Harry. Right lad you are._

“I'm actually free the next few days and Sunday. I've got lectures until 3 tomorrow and Friday and football training on Saturday until half seven. So, basically any day but Saturday. Well, I guess Saturday night works just as well I suppose, so, any time I guess.”

Harry silently chuckled; Louis was rambling and he thought it was extremely cute.

He definitely didn't peg Louis as the rambling type, but then again he had only known him for that short amount of time, barely able to peg him as anything, really. But at least Harry wasn't the only one that seemed to be nervous, that has got to be a good sign, right?

Harry heard a muttered “oh jesus” as someone in the background laughed, then a thud followed by an “ _ow_ , tosser!”

He himself let out a laugh and then mused a small “alright, then. How about Saturday night around eight-thirty?”

Harry grinned from ear to ear as he heard Louis agree to Saturday night's dinner, then gave him the address again just in case he forgot where his flat was.  
They hung up and Harry went and flopped onto his bed, not being able to stop smiling. Harry was actually ecstatic.

x

Louis set his phone down on the table and stalked into the living room and playfully slapped Liam on the shoulder. “Thanks, arsehole. Harry probably thinks I'm a nutter now because of you.”

Liam just smiled and shook his head, “Nope. That was all you mate. I was just reacting to how you were handling yourself. I mean, come on. We should start calling you 'Tommo the rambling man' or some shit because really mate, that was pathetic.”

  
He gave a hearty laugh as Louis sighed out a small _'whatever'_ as he turned around to walk back to his room while failing- but trying- to hide the smile that's come across his face.  
. . .

The next few days passed as slow as ever as Louis tried to keep focus on his coursework but failed to epic proportions because all he could do was think about his maybe date with Harry this Saturday.

When Saturday finally came-to, Coach Williamson even noticed Louis' game was not A* material because he requested to talk to him in his office after practice. Louis got off the pitch and walked directly towards the head coach's office, trying not to think of how much trouble he's probably going to get into for royally screwing up during practice.

  
As soon as he got into the room, Coach closed the door and told him to have a seat. Louis walked into the room further and sat down without a word, clasping his hands into his lap like a schoolboy about to get reprimanded.

“Tommo,” Coach started, “Not sure what's going on but you need to get your head into practice. You missed two passes and you know we've got to be on our a-game as a team if we want to take home the trophy. I've never seen you this unfocused and preoccupied. Everything alright?”

“Yeah,” Louis lifted his arm up and his hand went directly behind his neck, resting there. This is going a lot better than he originally thought it would. “Everything's fine. Just been a bit preoccupied is all. Lots of things on my mind with school and all. I'll get my shit together before practice Wednesday, Coach. Promise.”

Coach Williamson seemed to be okay with this because he let Louis leave without another word.

It took all of ten minutes for Louis to take a shower and change into his clothes before throwing his bag into the back of his car and head home.

  
He ran inside and tossed his duffel onto the bench in their entryway and made his way towards the kitchen. Opening the fridge door he reached in and grabbed the bottle of red wine he bought yesterday to bring over to Harry's. Louis closed the fridge door and slowly breathed in, calming his fast beating heart. _It's just dinner,_ he repeated to himself.

After a small breather he moved his right arm to his left wrist, lifting his jacket sleeve as he lifted his wrist closer to his face, checking the time. It was 8:15 and he told Harry he would be there at half eight.

He exhaled loudly, then shouted through the house he'd be home later, not even sure that Niall and or Liam were even home.

The drive to Harry's was short lived and before he knew it he was ringing the buzzer to the flat, waiting to be let in.

Harry came to the door wearing an apron over a black t-shirt and black skinny jeans. Louis momentarily forgot to breath as he stared at Harry's arms which were covered in tattoos. He didn't remember seeing them the night they all came here for drinks, but quickly recalled that Harry had been wearing a long sleeved shirt.

“Nice ship,” Louis reached out and tapped Harry's tattooed ship on his left arm as he walked past him, entering the flat.

“Not sure if that's sarcasm or not, but I'm going to take that as a compliment, thank you.” He heard Harry retort as he was closing the door. Harry walked past Louis and pointed to a coat hook in the hall, “feel free to hang your coat up if you'd like.”

Louis placed the wine bottle in between his legs as he shook off his jacket, hanging it on the hook. "I've brought over some wine. Not sure what kind you like, so I went with red? A classic?” He reached down to the wine bottle, securing it into his hand and then followed Harry into the kitchen and looked around.

There were oven mitts and pans, measuring cups and plates all around the kitchen along with pictures of fruit on the walls. Artistic, he thought. “Wow. You really went all out, what're you cooking?” he said, walking towards the stove.

“Ah, ah, ah! Get!” Harry shooed Louis away from the stove to the other side of the kitchen island. “It's a surprise. But it's good. Promise.”

He watched as Harry lifted the pan cover and stirred something, then placed the cover back on and opened the oven and checking on whatever it is that is in there. He seemed to be satisfied with the turnout because he turned off the oven and turned around, facing Louis.

x

Harry was cooking a chicken and pasta dish that he had learned how to make from his Nana, nothing that special but the sauce he was stirring was a secret recipe. He had also pre made a dessert mix and can't forget to put it in the oven a little before they finish eating. It was a molten chocolate cake recipe, which was also from his Nana.

Harry turned to face the man standing in his kitchen and just took it all in. His fifties-style quiff with a now clean shaven face. Louis was wearing red jeans and a white jumper, one that fit him absolutely perfectly. Harry smiled at him but looked down almost immediately and then leaned onto the island that was in the middle of his kitchen, both arms on the table as his hands fit together in front of him.

Clearing his throat, he looked up again, “So, how've you been? How was practice by the way?”

He watched as Louis stepped closer to the island and shrugged his shoulders. “I've been good, thanks. Glad winter break is almost here, I can't wait to just have some time off. Practice was good, quite boring actually. We didn't do as much physical stuff today, we mostly went over plays. How've you been?”

Hearing Louis talking about physical things kind of pained Harry as he would like to include Louis in quite a few physical activities of his own, but he pushed that thought aside and answered the question that was directed towards him.

  
“Yeah I've been great. I've taken a lot of good pictures for my class project. Went to Richmond park this morning at sunrise and took a load of photographs then walked around the park for a while where I stumbled upon a heard of deer and thought I was going to get trampled,” Harry heard Louis laugh and that in turn made him laugh before he continued on. “So yeah, there was that traumatic life experience. But then I got myself over to Westminster where I walked around there for a bit taking pictures of tourists and famous landscapes. It was a productive evening if I must say.”

He suddenly slammed his hands on the table and leaned back from the island and turned around, grabbing an oven mit from the counter. “Would you like to grab some glasses and plates from the cupboard above the sink?” Harry asked while reaching into the oven and pulling out the chicken.

 _Perfect_ , he thought, satisfied at how it looked to him.

Setting the chicken on top the stove he lifted the pan cover to stir the sauce and pasta together more, placing the lid back on. He looked over to Louis who was setting the plates down on the counter, reaching back up and grabbing two wine glasses from the second shelf.

“Where do you want these? Dinning room?” Louis looked over at Harry and it was too late to pretend he wasn't staring so he just gave a quick nod of his head.

  
Harry's kitchen had two open arches- one leading to the living room and the other to the dining room- and just before he turned around to grab everything, he watched Louis disappear through the entry to his small dining room.

Harry grabbed some cutlery and the pot of pasta in one hand and the baking pan with the chicken in the other. He walked through the entry and set the chicken first on the table followed by the pot of pasta. That's the great thing about big hands, they're strong and he can fit a lot in them.

He handed Louis a knife and fork and set his down on his plate before pulling his chair out and getting comfortable.

Louis had poured them both wine and Harry reached over and grabbed his glass, pausing at his mouth. “Here's to a lovely evening,” he lifted his glass a bit into the air before taking a sip of the best wine he has had in quite a while.  
…

A little over halfway through his dinner he excused himself to the kitchen where he put his mix into the oven and noted the time on his watch. He wasn't going to set the timer because he wanted the dessert to be a surprise.

After dinner Harry had put all the dishes in the sink to soak in some water.

He grabbed two small plates and went to the small cake pan he had laying on his counter and opened it up. It smelled heavenly, and he knew it tasted good because he'd made this dish a million times before, and he hasn't gotten sick of it yet.

Harry opened his freezer and took out the vanilla ice cream, placing one small scoop on each plate next to the individual cakes he made. He had told Louis to stay at the table, that they weren't finished in there, and he left it at that.

Bringing both plates into the dining room, Louis' jaw actually dropped, then a smile had taken it's place a second later, and it made Harry's heart feel like it _actually_ dropped.

He'd never gotten a reaction like that, mostly because he next to never made dessert for men he'd just met, mostly because they probably honestly give no fucks about dessert unless he's the dessert.

Harry set the plates down, one in his place and one in front of Louis. He sat down and picked up the spoon that was on the plate and took a bite, loving the warmth of the chocolate with the coldness that was the ice cream.

Louis complimented Harry about four times already at how amazing it was, and every time Harry's grin grew bigger. He always loved hearing that he was a good baker.

After dessert he walked through the entry to the living room and plopped on the couch. Louis had helped pick up the dessert plates and wine glasses that were on the table and had gone into the bathroom. Harry could hear the sink running and quickly ran his hands through his hair, making sure it was still perfect.

They'd drank the bottle of wine at dinner, and Harry had placed a new one on the coffee table in front of him, in case they decided they wanted more.

Louis came into the room and sat on the opposite end of the couch and picked up the movie that was on the table. Harry studied his expression, but he couldn't tell what was going on in his head.

“Is that an alright film? I've got loads more if you want to choose a different one.”

Louis looked up from the Love Actually DVD case and gave Harry a smirk. “Yeah, this is a good film. I'm okay with watching this.”

Harry gave a sigh of relief, not knowing how Louis would take it. But since it was almost Christmastime he figured it'd be a good movie; and hey, so what if it happened to be a romantic comedy, those are okay to watch with a guy on a maybe date, right?

He grabbed the remote and gave a small chuckle, “I was hoping you'd say that. I've already got it on.” He loosened his posture as he lifted the remote, pointing it at the tele and turning it on. The main menu to the movie was on the screen.

He turned to Louis. “Care for more wine? I've brought out another bottle, just in case.” It's not like Harry was trying to get Louis drunk, but if it just so happened that he were to get too drunk to drive it wouldn't be a problem for Louis to crash here. Definitely not trying to get him to stay over.

“I should actually probably stop drinking sometime soon, or I might not make it back to my flat.”

Harry took a short breath before answering, not wanting to sound like a creep. “Well, you could always stay here if it ends up being too much?”  
He studied Louis face again and this time he saw a flash of something on his face, but couldn't quite place what it was.

After a few seconds Louis slouched back into the couch and smiled, “Yeah, go on then.”

“Excellent,” Harry said with an innocent smile.

x

Louis extended his arm to accept the next glass of wine. The movie was halfway through and somehow Louis and Harry seemed to have gotten closer with the passing minutes.

He was in no condition to drive, he thought, so he might as well just drink up. After all, Harry said he didn't mind him staying.

He felt a buzz in his pocket and leaned his back into the couch and lifted his bum up a bit while reaching into his jeans pocket for his mobile. He opened it to a missed call from Liam and a text from Niall. He decided to shoot a quick text back to let them know they shouldn't wait up for him.

_Hey Ni, don't wait up for me. Had a bit too much wine and staying at Harry's. Nite xx_

Louis was quite proud of himself that he was able to compose that message properly; he leaned forward with a smug smile and set his phone on the table then looked to Harry.

He was watching the screen intently, and the way the dim lights were hitting his face made his profile extraordinary- he wished he had a proper camera to capture that magnificent moment, but he didn't so he sat back and tried to focus on the movie, most certainly not focusing on how much he wants Harry's curls in his face, kissing his neck or himself wrapped around Harry in Harry's bed.

Preferably all three but hey, he wasn't thinking about it.  
…

It was like one of those high school moments you see on tv. Their hands drifting closer across the couch until their fingers are entwined and thumbs are skimming across knuckles in back and forth motions.

Louis didn't know quite when it happened but he could feel the heat from Harry's pinky on his and he took a hard swallow and went for it. He placed his hands over Harry's and made a sideways eye glance towards Harry and saw he was grinning so he decided to face him.

As he turned his head, Harry turned his in the same moment and they smiled at each other, Harry's dimples surfaced as deep as the ocean and for some strange reason Louis wanted to poke his fingers in them.

Louis could tell that he was getting himself into trouble but he just couldn't stop staring. He was looking into those beautiful green eyes, getting lost in thoughts of Harry when all of a sudden they were attached at the face. It was a small kiss at first that made them both realise what was going on.

They pulled back for a quick second, looking into one anothers eyes, then found each other back in the others space. Louis' left hand was on the bit of couch behind Harry's bum, steadying himself, while his right hand was working it's way up the side of Harry's face and into his hair.

He heard a soft moan coming from Harry's mouth so he gripped the curly hair he had been thinking about just a while ago as he moved closer to him- the couch suddenly seeming bigger than it was a moment before.

He needed to be closer to Harry, to breath Harry in for the rest of forever. Okay, maybe that was a bit of an exaggeration, but at this moment in time it's what Louis was aching for.

Still sitting next to one another, he pulled away from Harry's mouth leaning towards his ear and gently brushing his lips over his lobe and down to the soft spot on Harry's neck. He gave a soft nip and another moan fell out of Harry's mouth. Louis grinned to himself as he pressed a kiss into Harry's neck where a lovebite was sure to surface any moment.

He was just about to move to Harry's lips again when he found himself getting pushed back onto the couch, Harry suddenly straddling him. Louis gave a soft whimper as Harry started grinding his hips down on Louis. He involuntarily arched his hips into Harry then immediately placed his hands on Harry's hips.

Harry leaned forward and placed one hand behind Louis' head, pulling him in for a kiss while the other hand steadied himself on the couch's arm rest.

“Is this” Harry started in between kisses, “Okay?” he finished, placing another kiss on Louis' lips.

Louis looked up to him, finally being able to catch a breath. “Yes,” he said weakly, “It's what I wanted all night.” He laughed before adding “You sure know how to make it a good first date,”

He saw Harry gave a little smirk and sat up again, “So this is a date?”

“Well, if it isn't I'd hate to see what your idea of an actual date would be like.”

Giving Harry a wink he leaned up and gave him a kiss, making it deeper and pulling Harry back down on top of him so their bodies were pressed together, their tongues fighting for dominance. His hands were moving all over Harry, not being able to rest in one place. Harry stopped kissing Louis' lips and instead focused on his neck.

His eyes rolled back into his head as Harry's hips started moving once again into Louis and then he closed his eyes, taking in all of the sensations.

He wasn't sure how far they were going to go, but he definitely needed Harry out of his shirt. Louis nonchalantly placed his hands inside the back of Harry's shirt, moving his hands up his ribcage while biting down gently on Harry's shoulder.

He felt Harry's breath catch on his neck before he felt him sitting up, and pulling his shirt over his head in one swift motion. Louis stared at him in awe.

His body was breathtaking- he had two sparrows on his chest and a huge butterfly spread on his torso under his chest. Louis reached out instinctively and touched the butterfly, feeling Harry's stomach muscles tense- then immediately relax at the touch, and Louis let his fingers gently rest on Harry's body.

“That's gorgeous, Harry” was all he could muster up, it was all his voice would allow him.

x

The night ended with both of them passed out on the floor of the living room, lips chapped from all the attention. Harry started to come to, and was very aware of the dull throbbing behind his left eye.

He was also very aware of the person he was the big spoon to.

 _Louis,_ Harry thought. _Beautiful Louis._

Although last night the very furthest they got was lovebites and one very intense make out session, Harry didn't mind. He wasn't used to things being taken slowly, and wasn't even sure if this was a real 'thing' or not.

All he knew was that Louis was wrapped in Harry's arms and that he needed some paracetamol as soon as humanly possible. He slowly and gently removed his arm from under Louis' neck while his other arm was balancing him as he started to get up.

He had successfully stood without even a small stir from Louis' end, which he thinks was due to two facts.

One, Harry never let any one night stand come to his- so he had to master the art of being successful in sneaking out of the persons place without so much as a goodbye because awkward mornings are not in Harry's list of favourite things;

  
The second being that it appears that Louis could sleep through a nuclear war because as soon as Harry had decided to go to his bathroom cabinet to grab some pain killers, he inadvertently stepped back into the coffee table and nearly topples over it onto the floor.

Harry tries to steady himself while at the same time trying to catch the empty bottle of wine that was heading into both wine glasses, but it's too late; they've already made contact and it's resorted in all three items falling onto the table with a loud bang. He holds his breath and squeezes his eyes shut, finally steady and not daring to even move an inch in the case that Louis wakes up.

It's not that he doesn't want Louis to wake up right now, he does, it's just that it's been a long time since someone's woken up in his flat- someone other than one of his best mates.  
A potential someone.

Harry just needs to get into his bathroom and wash his face and down a few paracetamols and think about this.. this.. situation.

After Harry decided it was safe for him to breath again, he reached down to the table and rights the glasses and bottle. He slowly turned around, trying desperately not to knock into any more of his furniture, and beelines for the bathroom.

Once there he turns on his sink and lets the water warm up before cupping both his hands and placing them under the running water.

He leans into his sink as his cupped hands meet his face, splashing the water onto him. He runs each hand down the front of his face- over his eyes and around his nose, moving downward over his lips and chin, hands settling on the edge of the sink while he stares at the reflection in the mirror.

He opens up the medicine cabinet and reaches in, popping a tablet out of the plastic aluminium packaging. Harry closes the cabinet and turns off the faucet right after he's taken the medication.

He decides he wants to take a shower to think more clearly, so he uses the door in the bathroom that leads to his room and grabs his towel. Padding back into the bathroom and locking the door behind him, Harry stripped bare as he turned on the hot water.

The room starts to steam up almost instantly as it's a fairly small bathroom and he steps into the shower, immediately soaking his hair.

As soon as Harry had gotten out of the shower and had changed into a white t-shirt and some joggers he walked out into the living room to find it empty.

There was absolutely no trace that Louis had even been there but the two wine glasses on the table.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School's kicking my ass and I'm working hard to put up the next chapter soon! Sorry! Be patient with me, readers :) 
> 
> also as always, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is pretty boring but hello for song references! *but its going to get good soon!*   
> I'm so sorry this has taken so long to update I promise I didn't forget about it.   
> I've been super busy and writers block and all that.   
> I'll try and be better! Finals are among us so after that I hope to have more free time!

 They had sexual attraction to each other, there was no denying that. But Louis was not having any of the feelings. Maybe dinner was a bad idea. Maybe they should have just shagged and gotten it out of the way, no need to delve into it further than sex.

He should bring this up at some point. Probably. Probably not.

He liked Harry, sure, and he recalls telling Harry he'd been waiting for that all night, and he also remembers that they came to the conclusion that it was probably a date.

He had woken up to find the spot next to him empty and could hear the shower running. Everything in Louis' mind was screaming _stay, stay!_ And once he realised that, it took all of two minutes before he was on Harry's front porch, unlocking his car with the fob. He knew the warning signs.

Louis' last relationship ended about a year ago. Stan, his best mate from back home, always told Louis he fell easy but he was hearing none of that. Aiden wasn't like most guys, and he charmed his way into Louis' life like it was the easiest fucking thing in the world. Well, one day he walked in on his boyfriend getting a blowjob from some bloke that worked at the pub down the street from their flat. They had been dating for a little over a year, and Louis had fallen hard. But a month of bad romantic comedies and countless cartons of ice cream later, after that, Louis swore on one night stands. Emotions- in Louis' mind- are overrated nowadays. He'd rather watch them in a 90 minute film than have to deal with that again.

When he woke up this morning, his first instinct was to stay and also join Harry in the shower, but figured that'd be quite awkward seeing as they'd known each other a week and a half, and he wasn't sure what page him and Harry were on. If they were even on a page.

Also. Louis was not looking for a relationship whatsoever. Nope. Football and school was more important. Well, footie was, but, semantics.

So he ran.

Not like he actually ran, but he just got up and kind of left. Louis doesn't like awkward encounters and this is definitely one of those times where it was bound to be more than awkward since not even Louis could properly tell what was going on inside his mind.

It was Sunday and he had an accounting exam in a week come Monday and he hadn't even opened his text book. Louis had taken a gap year before starting uni, training for football all year. But he always figured if football fell through, he'd major in Business Management. He was in his final year of school now and he was counting on the last game of the year to have at least some scouts in the audience. His chances of at least getting invited to a trial assessment is pretty good; he's been playing since he could remember, and also because his coach from his hometown and his current football coach have sent reports of him in- because they've both said he was the best player they've had. Not to gloat, but he agrees.

Anyways, it was Sunday and so once Louis walked into his flat he threw his keys into the dish in the entryway and immediately headed to the bathroom for a nice long shower. Maybe some one-on-one time with his right hand. But he was definitely not thinking about Harry.

…

Louis slammed his accounting book closed and rolled over onto his back, staring up at his bedroom ceiling. He heard on a knock on his door and sighed, rasping an exhausted “come in.”

He lifted his head up to a blond boy peering into his room, body hidden by the door. “Niall,” Louis said as he laid his head back own on his pillow. “To what do I owe the pleasure.”

Niall walked in and Liam followed, both boys coming in to sit on either side of Louis. Liam was the one to break the silence.

“So how was it?” Louis could hear his smile through the words and immediately shut his eyes.

“It was pretty okay. Standard, you know.”

“So you shagged,” Niall said, in a way that was more of a statement than a question. He had a panini in his hand and he took a bite, dropping some lettuce on Louis' bed.

“Not in so many words...” Louis opened his eyes and propped himself up onto his elbows, spotting the lettuce immediately. “Listen, I'd love to stay and chat about my non-existent sexual adventures, but I've got to go for a run. Niall. Mate. My bed is not a place to eat your panini.” He made no effort to get up, still staying his same position. 

“I thought you guys hit it off?” Liam looked a bit confused, actually, and it kind of pained him really. Poor Liam. 

“Yeah we did for sure, I was the one that stopped it from going that far.” He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. “No idea why come to think of it. Just wasn't ready I guess.” 

Niall just looked at him then dropped his head, picking up the dropped piece of vegetable. “Well, alright then. I guess. Anyways,” He said, changing the topic. “Dinner's ready. We got curry.”

Louis smiled and got off his bed and followed Liam and Niall to their living room, “didn't you just eat a panini in my bed? You're still hungry?”

Niall looked at him like he had grown a second head, “I'm a growing boy me. Need me food, don't I?” Louis just shook his head and sat down, ready to dig in.

…

Louis looked down to his cellphone and furrowed his brows. He just got a text message from Harry. _Sorry if I did anything to upset you._

Louis looked back up and out his window, trying to think of an excuse. He was good at bullshitting, but for some reason he didn't want to upset Harry with some lie. But at the same time he didn't want to acknowledge the truth, either. He settled on a happy medium in his mind before typing out a quick _Nah, mate. It was all me. Had to study for a test I forgot about. Maybe lunch this week?_

He locked his screen and threw the mobile onto his bed before changing his pants and climbing into bed, wondering why he'd just invited Harry to lunch. Harry's reply came quick and Louis slid open his screen to reveal his message, a simple few words accompanied by a smiley face. He can almost picture Harry's dimples making an appearance on his face as he read the message.

_I'd enjoy that :) .xx_

Louis plugged in his phone to charge and flipped over onto his other side, closing his eyes and most definitely not thinking of Harry's collarbones and the tips of the sparrow wings on them.

…

Monday came and went and Louis found himself checking his phone more than he probably should, always checking for a text from Harry though the person he had been texting all day was Niall.

x

Harry wasn't sure what was going on between him and Louis, but he was desperate to know. Not actually desperate enough to be like, 'hey dude what's going on what are we' but enough to have sent him a text late Monday night that said  _If you can spare an hour or so, we'll go for lunch down by the river?_

It was definitely more of a request than a question, but he didn't mind. He just wanted to talk to Louis. Harry hadn't felt this much of a connection in ages, and he was curious as to see how Louis was feeling about all this. Not in the creepy sense where he was madly in love and a stalker, no, it was more that Harry did feel a connection and wanted to see where it would go. _If_ it was going to go anywhere.

He had just finished his photography portfolio for the day when Zayn came over, it was late and he knew Zayn had loads of homework but there must have been some reason he was wanting to go to Harry's at half nine at night when they both had an 8am.

There was a flash of his camera and Harry looked up, smiling. Zayn was easy to read, as he and Harry had been best mates for quite a few years now.

Harry listed to Zayn's day as he made them both tea. He set the tea in front of Zayn and took a seat opposite him, folding his arms to his chest and staring at him pointedly. “So, you going to tell me what's wrong or am I going to have to guess?”

Zayn paused for the slightest second, cup to his lip, before continuing to sip his tea. If Harry hadn't have known him for so long he wouldn't have noticed the slight pause.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” 

“Mate. I've known you for how long? I know when something's wrong with you.”

Zayn looked at Harry and gave a sigh, but giving in.

“Fine. It's Liam. He's not tried to talk to me since that night. I mean, it's not even that big of a deal but I thought, I thought it was a connection we had. And I don't even know what this is. I don't know why I feel like this? I'm Zayn fucking Malik. I don't dote after people. People dote after me like really.” He set his cup down and put both hands over his face. Harry just smiled.

“Seriously?” Harry asked, giving a small chuckle. “This is about Liam?”

He wasn't intending to be insensitive, and Zayn knew that, but this was actually new to Harry as it was to Zayn. He'd never seen Zayn like this before. Harry continued, “Does he even have your number, Zayn?”

  
Zayn shook his head and gave a shrug, “No. He doesn't. But I mean, that's what the internet is for, right? I mean, he could look me up on facebook or something. God this is weird. What's wrong with me. I have a fucking crush, Harry. A crush.”

He seemed to be more distraught over this than Harry figured he should be, but he silently took out his phone and texted Louis, again, but this time asked him how Liam was doing and if he had mentioned Zayn at all.

Zayn stood up suddenly and went to get a bag of crisps from the counter, “You know what? It's whatever.” He came to sit down and after that, Zayn was normal Zayn again. It's like he totally changed his mind over the situation, and a certain part of Harry wished he could be the same- though he knew it was just a front Zayn was putting up.

…

Harry fell asleep before he got Louis' messages, but he woke to them which was second best. The first one was setting a time for the lunch and a second was discussing Liam.

_Yeh, he's brought it up. Not sure what his stance is on it though, why, what's Zayn saying?_

Harry got dressed and made his way to class as he was typing out his response, _We'll talk about it at lunch. See you then. Xx_

…

Louis was already waiting on the bench along the Thames by the time Harry showed up. He sat down next to him, handing Louis a vente Yorkshire tea from Costa that he picked up on the way there. They sat there for a few moments in silence before Louis cleared his throat.

“So, uhm, are we getting lunch or are we going to sit here and freeze our asses off?”

He had a smile on his face, but it was pretty cold out so Harry figured there was some seriousness to the question. He stood up and gestured to the small restaurant that was a little ways down the road. Louis got up and they started towards it.

“I-”

“What-”

“Oh, sorry. You go first.” Louis turned his head and looked at Harry, waiting for him to continue speaking.

Harry really wanted to talk about Louis and him, but he decided this was not the time so he opted to talk about Liam and Zayn, maybe finding the courage to ask about them in a bit.

“So yeah. Yesterday Zayn came over. Not saying he was inquiring about Liam, but, he was inquiring about Liam.” Harry grinned and moved a little closer to Louis as a women with a pram came along, needing more room on the pavement.

“Yeah, Liam's been a bit distracted but I'm not sure as to why. Could be Zayn I s'pose.” He shrugged his shoulders and reached for the door, opening it for Harry.

They entered the restaurant and picked a seat at the table nearest the window. Harry slid off his jacket and put it around the back of his chair, sliding into the space between the chair and table. He watched as Louis did the same, then clasped his hands in front of him.

“That all then? No inside scoop on what Liam's feeling?” Harry chuckled softly, “It's okay if you don't, just trying to get a better understanding of the situation.” Pause. He looked down to his hands. Deep breath, he thought. “Speaking of which,” another breath. “How've you been?” He slowly looked up to Louis, but Louis was already looking at Harry with what looked like a bit of guilt behind his eyes.

“Yeah I've been good thanks.. Sorry about- sorry about the other day. Had some things to do.” There was a flash of something on Louis' face but it was gone instantly. Harry found himself wanting to know Louis' little 'somethings' so he could always be in-tune with Louis, but of course he'd never say that. Instead, he shrugged his shoulders and gave a small smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. He opened his mouth to reply but the waiter had shown up, asking their drink orders.

After she was gone, Harry tried again. 

“It's alright yeah. Not like you had to stay or anything, it's fine.” He forced out a laugh hoping Louis wouldn't be able to tell the difference, which just made this all the more uncomfortable. He was sure people at other tables could sense the awkwardness.

Louis' eyes looked around the room, and Harry was just sat there waiting. Waiting for Louis to say anything. _Fuck,_ he thought, _this is so fucking awkward why didn't I just leave it alone._

Eventually though, Louis' eyes found Harry's and they were soft, yet guarded.

“I know I wasn't but I didn't even say goodbye or anything like that.” He looked down at his hands but almost immediately looked back up to Harry, hesitance clear in his posture.

Before Louis could open his mouth again, Harry heard a soft cough and a tap on his shoulder. He didn't even see the other man approach them, but he was too focused on Louis. Harry turned his head and looked up to the brown haired brown eyed man that was looking down at him. If Louis weren't looking at the man as well, he would have seen how Harry's face slowly drained in colour as if he were staring at a ghost.

“So,” the guy started, “Fancy bumping into you here. Too god for a text then, Harry?” He softly chuckled but Harry could hear his hesitance. He held out his hands in sort of a “what can you do” way. Louis looked from the guy to Harry and back again. The guy held out his hand. 

“John.”

Harry looked to Louis who held out his hand to shake John's. “Louis” he said slowly.

John shook his hand quickly then let Louis' hand drop. “Well Harry. It's been a pleasure as always. Have fun with whatever this is.” He waved his hands around, clearly bitter of the whole situation. Harry wanted to explain, explain that they weren't exclusive and that he had meant to text- but it would have just looked worse than it did currently.

He watched as John walked out the door and then gathered himself up and looked back to Louis, who had that cold look to him again, eyes completely walled.

“Look, I don't want to sound like a complete tosser or anything, but. We should just be like- Maybe we could just be like... Mates. Can we just be mates without this being awkward or anything?”

Harry felt something inside him turn, but he didn't really know what, and instead of saying what he wanted to-he went along. Maybe a little too along with it. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding in.

“Yeah, yeah that's good. Yeah. That's what I was going to suggest,” he was nodding his head a little too excessively but Louis wouldn't have been able to guess. He wondered what Louis would have said if John hadn't showed up; if anything were to change or it still would have taken this turn.

  
Louis looked at him, eyes squinted a bit. “Really?” a slight pause, “Great then, it's settled.” He nodded his head a few times, something once again flashed behind his eyes but also once again- Harry had no idea what.

It may not have been what Harry wanted- because not even he knew, except that he felt a connection- but maybe being just friends is what they need. Maybe Harry got it wrong and they're meant to be best mates and all and nothing more. Maybe. Probably. Probably not but who could tell.

…

After lunch they separated, both going to their afternoon lectures, promising to meet up later that night with the rest of the boys to go to a local pub and have a few pints. Hary shot a quick text to John hoping to resolve their issue, and give John some closure- though they weren't even dating he felt it necessary that they parted on good terms.

…

About a week and a half had gone by and it was a few days into winter break already. Harry and Zayn had spent the majority of their time over at Louis, Liam and Niall's house studying for exams. Things were a lot better between Louis and him, for starters it was a lot less awkward than Harry had thought it would be. Harry was doing his best to just be a mate to Louis, putting the small amount of feelings he had toward the lad on the back burner of his mind.

  
In a few days it would be Christmas Eve and also- as Harry learned- Louis' birthday. One night over takeaway and Iron Man 3 they'd discussed their break plans. Louis would be in Doncaster with his family through the new year and up until a few days before term picked up again. Harry would be in Cheshire, while Zayn, Liam and Niall also went home.

So, for a good solid month they'd all be separated. Harry could handle that. He could deal with not seeing his mates for that long, right? He has already been a few days without them and it wasn't too terribly bad; he could handle a while longer.

 

x

 

Louis was in the middle of an important FIFA tournament with Stan when his phone went off, interrupting his concentration. Stan scored the last goal and slammed his fist into the air, claiming victory.

“Sod off you tosser! That wasn't fair, I dot distracted!”

Stan just looked at Louis and laughed. “Not my fault your concentration lately has been non-existent. When's dinner?”

Louis looked up from his phone with a small smile; he'd received a birthday message from Zayn and Harry that consisted of emojis of cake and balloons. Louis stood up, pocketing his phone and slapping a hand on Stan's shoulder.

“Dinner's at 5. We've got approximately an hour and a half. Mum'll be home soon from whatever it is she's doing and the girls are gone, what do you say we crack open a beer before the lot gets back?” Before Stan could answer he was walking to the fridge, opening two bottles of Becks and handing one to Stan.

Louis took a seat at the island in the middle of his kitchen and Stan plopped on the seat next to him. Louis took a sip of his beer, holding out his bottle to Stan afterwards, proposing a toast. “To a great night ahead of us.”

Stan clinked his bottle to Louis' and just as Louis pressed the bottle to his lips, Stan started singing “Ohhhhhh, we like to drink with Louis, cause Louis is our mate! And when we drink with Louis, he downs it all in 8!” Louis couldn't stop now, nope. Stan started chanting and when the chant comes out, drinks need to be drank.

Louis opened his mouth wider, allowing some air to escape from the bottle, causing the beer to rush out. When Stan got to the number 3, Louis was finishing up his beer and slamming the bottle on the table.

“Ayeeee” Louis said, sliding the back of his hand across his mouth removing some of the beer that missed his mouth. “Unfair advantage you had. I'd already begun drinking mine!”

Stan let out a laugh and took a sip of his beer, “Well mate, sucks doesn't it. Wanna go then?” He gave Louis a sly smile and got up, going to the fridge and grabbing two more beers, opening them up and setting them in front of Louis. He watched as Stan grabbed one, holding it out neck first to Louis, waiting. Louis picked his up, his bottle neck making contact with Stans.

“In 3,” Stan started, making eye contact with Louis. 

“2,” 

“1,” 

“Go.” They both said before they parted their bottles and lifted them towards their own mouth.

Louis could feel the beer sliding easily down his throat. Within about 4 seconds Louis' bottle contents were almost gone. Another second passed and his bottle was completely empty, and he put his bottle down as he looked to Stan, who was just setting his down.

“Fuck. Not even by a second this time!” Stan exclaimed. “One day. One day I'll beat you by 2 seconds and it'll be the greatest day ever.” Stan laughed and sat back down.

Louis pretended to flip long hair off his shoulders and turned his head to face Stan. “Babe, you'll never be as good as me.”

Stan just laughed harder.

…

Louis and Stan were watching some movie that was on the tele, both too lazy to get the remote that was on the other side of the room and change the channel.   
Louis heard the door open and a few seconds later the living room was occupied by Jo and his siblings. Louis smiled and scooted closer to Stan, making room for Phoebe and Daisy to plop down on the couch next to them. 

“'Ello, loves. How's your day been?” He looked down to the girls sat next to him and smiled.

He listened to their stories of their day but got startled when his mum reached her arms over his head, hovering a birthday cake with lit candles in front of him.

“Make a wish, boobear!” 

Louis groaned at the nickname but he was used to it. He closed his eyes and thought of what to wish for. After a moments pause he opened his eyes and blew out his candles, getting applause from the people in the room as the candles went out.

…

Louis woke up on January 1st in Stanley's bed and his phone filled with snapchats from all the lads back at uni. He opened Liams first, and it was a dark silhouette of him and some bloke with blue and purple lights dancing in the background. Louis smiled to himself before opening the next, from Mark. He had a cup of tea in front of him and the television on in the back round with text that read 'way to ring in the new year'. Niall's was a short video of some traditional Irish music in the background and a lot of people crammed together in what looked like to be someone's basement. He paused before opening a snap story from Harry, not remembering exchanging snap names with him. He proceeded to open it, and a quick sharp throb went through his gut as it showed him mid kiss with some guy in the middle of a club with the words 'happy new years evry1' on it. Someone must have taken his phone at some point last night because he had put a couple second video up on his story timeline of Stan and Louis doing some sort of shots off of a girls stomach.

Welp, he thought, body shots explain why he woke up shirtless and sticky.

He used the front camera to take a picture of him laying in bed, one arm draped over his face with the words 'what happened last night' displayed across it and proceeded to snap everyone back, including Harry, though Harry didn't personally snap him first.

He tossed his phone to the side and turned to curl up to Stan, who mumbled something incoherent as Louis drifted back to sleep.

. . .

Once all the festivities were over and it was time to get back to the school schedule, his mother and sisters all made the haul to London to bring Louis back to his flat. Stan had come over that morning and promised to come visit him during reading week, as they were both too broke to do anything fun, anyways.

He felt his phone vibrate as soon as he entered his flat, but ignored it, calling out to his flatmates as soon as he set his bags down.

Niall came into the livingroom, “Mate it's been ages good te see'uh” He clasped Louis' shoulder as they sat on the couch and he pulled out his phone looking to the screen as Niall turned on some reality show.

Liam: _Almost home, don't eat bringing back food_

 

x  
  


 

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you think and i'll post the next part in a few days!  
> this is only a fraction of the full script, I was just wanting to see how people felt about it- being this is my first work and all. PLEASE PLEASE leave something letting me know what you thought of it.


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